


Shine With The Power Of A Thousand Stars

by Ice20



Category: The Martian (2015), The Martian - All Media Types, The Martian - Andy Weir
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Angst, But Actually Alive, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Sexual Content, Grieving, Hurt/Comfort, Knotting, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Meet-Cute, Presumed Dead, Sex, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-05-02 14:39:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5252024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ice20/pseuds/Ice20
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[...] It wasn't uncommon to find Omegas working for NASA, either. Some of them even had important tasks to perform and great responsibilities in their hands. But the vast majority of them had paperwork-related jobs, worked in an office and weren't directly involved with fieldwork. There had only been two Omegas in the whole Ares Project's history who had been selected to go to space. </p><p>The first one was a female Omega who had gone to Mars with the Ares I mission. Her picture had been shown on the news in every country in the world and her posters were in the bedrooms of many young, hopeful Omegas who wished to be just like her, someday: brave, kind, and respected.</p><p>The second one was Chris Beck, selected to be part of the Ares III mission. [...]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shine With The Power Of A Thousand Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everybody!  
> Wow, would you believe me if I told you that this fic was born as a short one, and then became this monstruosity? Well, it's the first time I've ever written something this long, so I really hope you're gonna like it.
> 
> A/N:  
> 1) I'm not a native English speaker, but I always do my best to correct typos and mistakes, and I proof read my works at least twice. Still, I'm sorry if you'll find any errors. Be patient with me.
> 
> 2) In this universe, Omegas have many rights and can work important jobs, but it's still much more difficult for them than it is for the Alphas, which are physically stronger, and the Betas, the majority of the population.  
> Also, during their heats, Omegas don't act like mindless animals, begging to be bred by the first Alpha they see; they maintain their mental faculties and, if they stay isolated and safe, they can control their need to procreate and take care of it with all the due means.
> 
> 3) In this universe, mated couples share a special bond. Its break causes a lot of pain, mental and physical. But I'm not gonna add anything else, I don't wanna spoiler it.

It wasn't uncommon in the modern society to see Omegas work prestigious jobs and have powerful roles in the world. Many of them had prosperous careers and there were many laws protecting their status and granting them their rights and protection against abuses. Obviously, it was still much more difficult for them to reach their goals than it was for Alphas and, even more, Betas, but that was to be expected.

It wasn't uncommon to find Omegas working for NASA, either. Some of them even had important tasks to perform and great responsibilities in their hands. But the vast majority of them had paperwork-related jobs, worked in an office and weren't directly involved with fieldwork. There had only been two Omegas in the whole Ares Project's history who had been selected to go to space.

The first one was a female Omega who had gone to Mars with the Ares I mission. Her picture had been shown on the news in every country in the world and her posters were in the bedrooms of many young, hopeful Omegas who wished to be just like her, someday: brave, kind, and respected.

The second one was Chris Beck, selected to be part of the Ares III mission.

\- - -

Melissa Lewis had been the first one chosen as part of the crew for Ares III. She was going to be the Commander. Lewis was a beautiful woman, respected among the other candidates and known for her passion and dedication, as well as for her kind firmness.

She was an Alpha, and she was mated. Her husband, Robert, was a professor at the local university, and their marriage was a happy one. They had no children, not yet, both of them being still too focused on their careers and too busy to think about it. Lewis was more than satisfied with what she had, though: a fateful and brilliant mate who shared her passion for disco music and old movies, a nice home, and lots of friends. She was a caring mate, never suffocating or illogically jealous; Melissa always did her best to make sure Robert was safe and comfortable in every situation, but that was it. She respected him and gave him space, and felt blessed to have found such a loving Omega.

During her very first interview with a psychologist that was going to follow her and her soon-to-be crewmates for the duration of the training, she had been asked various questions. Combined with those of the other potential candidates, NASA would have later studied their compatibility, and therefore selected the other five lucky ones who were going to space with her.

“What would you think of an Omega joining your crew, Commander?” the psychologist, a Beta, asked her.

Lewis regarded him with a leveled look.

“I would think that they deserve to be there, since they would have clearly worked just as hard as anyone else to be here,” she had replied.

“So this wouldn't bother you, at all?”

“No, sir. Not at all”

That had been it. Those had been the words which had allowed Beck to be part of the mission.

\- - -

The day before the week dedicated to medical examinations – the one leading to the beginning of the actual training – the whole crew had been given the opportunity to meet each other.

Some of them were already familiar. Martinez and Watney had been introduced almost casually months before, and they had developed a nice friendship.

Martinez was a Beta. He was married with a son, Catholic. Watney was an Alpha, not bonded, an Atheist. They had immediately bonded over their wicked sense of humor, and they knew they were destined to be the jokers of the group. They were good friends and had shared a couple of beers on more than one occasion. None of them had problems being commanded by a woman, nor had they any problems having an Omega as crewmate. Martinez, being a Beta, couldn't care less, while Watney had always been able to control himself in front of Omegas, and respected them just as human beings, and not as if their status defined them.

Johanssen was a Beta, too. She was the youngest of the crew, and probably the most reserved one. She mostly kept to herself, but she was actually just shy. She was an easy going person, and the presence of another woman in the group actually comforted her. She, too, wasn't adverse to the idea of an Omega being part of their little group. Her best friends growing up had been Omegas, and she had been the bridesmaid at their marriages.

Vogel was an Alpha, and had six kids. When he had told that to his new crewmates, their eyes had bulged out of their heads, much to his amusement. He had shown them their pictures as proof that he wasn't pulling their leg. He felt a deep love with Helena, and thought that she was the best mate he could ever had wished for. She was strong, and faithful, and his perfect significant other. He obviously, just like everybody else, didn't mind having an Omega on the Hermes. The guy just had to be as professional and committed as anyone else, that was all that mattered to him.

And Chris Beck was all that. Committed, professional, hard working, and easy going. He had a ready wit and the uncanny ability to put everyone else at ease. Beck had immediately liked all of his crewmates, and had felt safe around them.

It was clear to everyone that he had been chosen for his ability to bring harmony and peace to the group, as well as for his professional and technical abilities. He was a placating figure, but there was also something in his eyes that spoke volumes about his stubbornness and determination. He wasn't the kind of Omega you could just boss around or raise your voice at without a motivation; he wasn't one of those who immediately lowered their eyes in submission. He was one of those who had fought to reach their goals, no matter how hard and difficult the obstacles to overcome had been. The others immediately respected him for that. An easy camaraderie was already born.

\- - -

During the months of training that prepared the crew for their launch, Chris had numerous talks with the doctors and specialists that followed almost each of their movements. Apart from making sure that he was always physically fit and ready to face space, there had also been the problem regarding the heats. Therefore he had been assigned a personal physicist, a fellow Omega, who he could talk to for any concern related to his status. Chris had been grateful for the opportunity, given the fact that the other doctors were Alphas and Betas and, even though he knew they were all professionals, he also understood that it was quite different to theoretically know everything about heat cycles, and actually having to live them.

Since he had left home to go to university, Chris had begun having controlled heats. Given that they happened regularly, every four months - meaning he had three heats each year - Chris had tried to control them and had made sure they always happened mid-December during Christmas holidays, during spring break, and before the beginning of the autumn semester mid-August. He had avoided using suppressants, despite the fact that they were mostly harmless and medically safe these days, because he had never felt the need to do so.

Later on, when university was over and he begun working for NASA, he monitored the heats cautiously and asked for permission to stay home for a week when the heat cycle was due. NASA always granted him said permission: it was well in his rights, after all, and also they didn't want the Alphas in their ranks to be driven crazy by the scent of an Omega in heat. Moreover, Chris himself didn't want to succumb to his fevered needs and find himself with a mate he didn't even know and pregnant at the end of the heat. That would have shattered all his dreams, all he had worked so hard for. Therefore he made sure to lock the reinforced door of his apartment and stay away from troubles.

Now though, the suppressants were not an option anymore.

“We can't afford you being indisposed for a whole week when you're on the Hermes, obviously,” the physician told him one day.

Chris nodded. “Of course. I was thinking that an injection of suppressants before we leave and another one as we begin the journey back to Earth could be a solution to the problem,” he said, even though he didn't like thinking of his status as a 'problem'. Sure, being an Omega had not made things easy for him, but he wasn't ashamed of who he was.

The man sitting behind the desk agreed. “Yes, we had the same idea. Obviously you being a doctor makes things easier, you know what to expect and how you should act in case the injection is to be taken before the supposed day. That is also the reason why we will send on the Hermes two additional shots, in case the effect lasts less than expected.”

Chris agreed that the preventive measure was essential, and since he had never taken suppressants before and they had to be sure they would work on his cycle, that very same day Chris gave permission to be injected with a smaller dose of suppressants that would stop his cycle – which had been due for the following week – for one month, to see how things worked out.

Much to his satisfaction, it all worked pretty well. There were no side-effects at all, and he didn't have muscle cramps nor felt dizzy after the tiring physical training, all symptoms he knew he had to look for.

Instead, he was full of energy and performed at his best, as always, for the following four weeks and a half. He went for the usual five-miles runs in the morning, had a light breakfast, then four hours of specialized training before he met with the others for a quick lunch. After that, they all trained together for a few more hours, and in the end said goodbye to each other everyday around six, right before dinner. Chris liked the routine and the bond it helped creating between the six of them.

It was only at the end of a long day of training that he felt the familiar pull in his belly, a tenderness that wasn't there usually, which told him his heat would begin in the next two days top. His glands were slightly swollen, and his scent was more pronounced than usual. All in all, the shot had worked perfectly well and the heat was right on time. The physician was satisfied.

“Any nuisance at all?”

“No, it all worked perfectly smoothly. I didn't throw up nor felt overly tired. Not more than after a normal day of training,” he joked.

The physician smiled, seemingly contented. “Very good, then. Concerns?”

“No, no. I know how it works, and I feel pretty safe actually. Relieved that everything worked out as expected.”

He got on his feet, shaking hands with the man and with permission to stay home for the next week and take care of his upcoming heat.

“It will probably last a day longer than usual, since you skipped the one that was due to happen a month ago,” the physician advised.

Chris left then, thinking about how long his first heat would be after the journey to Mars and back. No less than two weeks, maybe even three, he thought, already shivering at the idea. It would be hell.

The next morning, he woke up covered in sweat and feeling a familiar wetness between his legs, soaking his briefs. He took off all of his clothes and rummaged in his dresser until he found the medium-size box he kept in there specifically for these times. He put it on the bed, where he knew it would come in handy, later. Grunting, he walked to the adjoined bathroom for a long, warm bath that would ease the cramps and pain.

That was the way he spent the following five days: bubble baths, warm blankets, and toys.

Chris made sure to drink a lot of water and forced himself to eat something everyday, even when his stomach was upset and getting on his feet only meant leaving a puddle of slick on the floor – that's why he had plugs, after all.

At the end of the sixth day, he began feeling better; his mind was less fuzzy and his thoughts were clearer. The fever was gone, and he could think about something other than being knotted for more than ten minutes at a time. He made himself a light dinner, probably the most caloric dish he had eaten in the past few days, and bribed himself with a spoonful of ice cream. That's when he decided it was time to switch on his phone. There were messages from the crew telling him to take care of himself and be safe, and jokes from Martinez to make him feel better that made him smile softly. Johanssen advised him to stay far away from the centrifuge for as long as he could. He slowly replied to each of them, saying he would probably be back in the next few days.

He also called Lewis, who had specifically asked him to report his status when he felt better. She was polite on the phone, and told him she was happy to know he was feeling better, but she also told him to take his time before he came back and not to rush things. Better stay at home one day longer than passing out during the training, after all. She had been sympathetic and tactful, just as Chris as expected her to be: she was a bonded Alpha after all, a caring mate who knew how much a heat was hard and debilitating for the body.

The following morning, a Sunday, his ring-tone woke him at ass-o'clock. Sleepy and tired as he was – his body was still recovering from the heat after all – he rolled around in his bed and blindly reached for his nightstand, where his phone stood. He didn't even glance at the caller's identity before he picked up.

“Beck speaking,” he mumbled, half incoherent as he was.

“Hey Doc, it's Mark,” Watney's voice replied, waking him up immediately.

“Watney? Uh, hi,” he replied, heart beating fast.

“Hi! I wanted to know how you're doing today. I saw your message just now.”

“Oh, I-I'm fine, thank you,” Chris stuttered, blushing furiously at the wave of slick falling between his legs as soon as he recognized the Alpha's voice, and trusting Watney wouldn't pick up on the tremble in his words. “Yes, I'm definitely better, thanks. I, uh, sent the message yesterday night.”

“Yeah, I suspected that much, but I was so tired after the training that I fell asleep on the couch. My back's screaming in pain.”

“Did you take anything?” Chris asked, the doctor in him immediately taking over.

“No, no. It's not that bad, really; nothing some good stretching can't cure,” Watney said. 

The image of Mark Watney stretching those solid muscles of his made Beck moan in pleasure, but the shameful sound was thankfully stopped by his hand covering his mouth.

There was a brief silence on both sides as Beck tried to compose himself and find something to talk about without making a fool of himself – something that always seemed to happen when he was around Mark.

But then, Watney spoke again. “Well, uh, I should go now, or I'll be late for my morning run. I hope to see you tomorrow, Doc.”

Chris felt his heart flutter in his chest. Watney always had that effect on him, and knowing he was looking forward to seeing Beck again made his blood burn. He quickly apologized for keeping Mark from his run and they said goodbye to each other, before Chris buried his head in his pillow, pushed his ass higher in the air and made wild noises as he rode the invigorated waves of heat coming to him 'till he reached his climax.

He had to wait two more days before he felt confident enough to go back to the training centre, but he blamed the suppressants for the powerful, newfound libido, and not the dreams of Watney's hands touching him everywhere.

\- - -

During the long, slow journey to Mars, Mark Watney couldn't help but feel helplessly and hopelessly attracted by their resident doctor. Okay, if he had to be honest with himself, the attraction had manifested the very first day they met, almost two years ago. Beck had something magnetic in him that made it impossible not to be appealed by him. He had a catchy personality and was overall a bril l iant man. Also, the way he talked, the jokes he made, his looks, everything screamed  _sexy_ to Mark.  The wasn't the stereotypical Omega, petite and delicate, but was tall and slender and had a perfect jaw.

He was pretty sure Beck was totally oblivious of his feelings, which was good. Having to refrain himself from doing or saying anything inappropriate was already difficult enough; having to deal with reciprocation – or worse, rejection – wouldn't have been easy for him.

There had been a time when he had almost got caught, thinking about it. It had been when Beck had had his first heat since they had met, and Mark had called him almost a week after the doctor had been granted permission to stay home. Beck had sent him a message, thanking him for his previous ones, and he had not replied because he had been asleep at the time. But then, the following morning, seeing it, he had called him, and Beck had picked up, still sleepy and, God, Mark could picture the man wrapped in warm blankets, rumpled and with bed hair.

They had talked for a couple of minutes before Mark had heard something, like a muffled moan, coming from the other end of the line, and his cock had immediately filled up, even if his brain had assured him that Beck had  _not_ actually moaned. Mark had forced himself to stay silent then, unwilling to trust his voice not to growl in lust at the other man. Then, when he felt he was a bit more under control, he had politely but rapidly found an excuse to end the call, and had gone take a long shower to calm down, the delicious sound of the moan still filling his ears.

After that episode, though, he never noticed Beck sending him any kind of sign, and he had convinced himself it had just been his imagination, and nothing more.

So he just looked and kept his distance, acted like a good friend but never once said anything at all about his feelings, no matter how much he dreamed to kiss the Omega senseless. More than once he had woken up in the morning with a hard on and had jacked off in the shower, thinking about pretty lips and big eyes and broad shoulders and- Ah, the thought was enough to make his cock twitch.

He knew that the Commander knew. Halfway through their training, when their schedules had become even more hectic than normal if that was even possible, and they had been forced to spend a lot more time together to make sure they could work as a team, she had pulled him aside and threatened to kick his sorry ass if he so much as tried to hit on Beck. It had been, thankfully, a private talk. Also, an incredibly embarrassing one. He thought he had been so careful not to let anything slip!

“What's up, Commander?” he had asked with a grin.

Lewis had regarded him with a severe glance.

“You know perfectly well what's up, Watney,” she had replied with her infamous non-bullshit tone. “I know you don't have a mate, nor does Beck. And I see how much he attracts you. He's objectively a wonderful Omega and a brilliant man, so I can understand, but I swear to God, if you try to touch him, I'll make your life a living hell.”

Mark had blushed hard. “No, I mean, I – I would never do that, Commander.” He knew that any inappropriate behavior could have ruined the entire mission at that point, and he sure as hell didn't want to be the reason why his crewmates had been forced to see their dreams shattered.

She had looked at him, then, and studied his face for a while before she had nodded, seemingly satisfied. “I know you won't. You're a professional, the both of you are. But I have to make sure nothing happens, even if the temptation is there. If you ever need someone to talk to, Mark, you can come to me,” she had said, a hand on his shoulder.

Mark had never needed to talk to her, even though he had appreciated her words and her offer. He had been a perfect gentleman, polite and nice, never crowding or pushing, and in the following months, his friendship with Beck had become stronger.

The doctor didn't know about the talk he had been given, and if he suspected something he never told him. They spent some of their free time together, too, and had a couple of movie nights, and that had been all.

Now though, now that the had to see each other almost twenty four-seven, he didn't feel so confident in his ability to refrain himself anymore. Beck was everywhere. His bunk was on the other side of the corridor from Mark's. The bathrooms were at the end of said corridor, and they had to share it. They also shared a small lab for their experiments, meaning they spent some hours alone together everyday, undisturbed. They ate together and exercised together. They relaxed in the rec room together. Key word there being  _together,_ obviously.

It wasn't the two of them alone, clearly. The whole crew was there for the meals and the free time. It was a small ship after all. But it was driving Mark crazy anyway.

The fact that Beck had developed a deep friendship with Johanssen, also, made him feel irrationally jealous from time to time. Beck called her Beth when he thought nobody else could hear him. It was a privilege he had not extended to anyone else. He beamed at her like she hung the moon. He watched movies with her and touched her shoulder as greeting every morning when he went to grab his cup of coffee. When he still smelled of sleep a little bit and made Mark's senses feel overwhelmed.

And yes, he still smiled at Mark and beamed at him, too, but it just wasn't the same. It was driving Mark crazy, and he knew he didn't have the luxury of being distracted by this kind of thing as they were in the middle of fucking space. He had to be concentrated and ready if something happened. So he made the executive decision to go talk to Lewis one day, after he finished his tasks.

He was halfway there when he all but ran into Beck himself, floating in the opposite direction.

“Ouch.”

“Eww. You okay, bud?” he asked, grabbing one of the handles there to stop moving.

“Yes, thanks,” the doctor smiled, latching his hands around his bicep to keep from floating away.

Mark couldn't help but beam because Beck had chosen to use him to steady himself, instead of one of the handles put there for that exact purpose. The sensation of that hand gently squeezing his muscles was all Mark could focus about.

They were merely inches away from each other, and was it just Mark's imagination, or were Beck's lips redder than usual? Those damned, tempting lips. The doctor's tongue licked over the bottom one, and fuck, that was so sexy, every time he did – and he did it  _a lot_ – and was was Beck smiling up at him, eyes bright under those long lashes? 

Mark's mouth watered and his pulse quickened, as he watched in silent awe as the doctor used his arm as leverage to move his own body forward, flushed against Mark's, before he kissed his cheek. It was a feather-like touch, the softest brush of lips against skin, but Mark's heart stopped for a little while, and he wondered if he was in Heaven, or simply dreaming.

Mark was left speechless, the entire universe around them forgotten, the spot on his cheek where Beck's lips had made contact with his skin the only thing existing, pleasantly warm and almost tingling. He could smell Beck's scent, rich and sweet and warm like a freshly baked pie.

“Don't tell anyone I did that,” Beck whispered in his ear with a small blush high on his cheeks, the incarnation of charm and seduction, before he moved his body back, putting some distance between them and actually snapping Mark out of his reverie.

“Don't tell anyone I liked it,” he heard himself reply.

Beck gave him a smile so bright it actually lightened up the whole corridor, and it was only the sound of someone approaching that made them pull away from each other completely.

“I'll see you tonight for dinner,” Beck said, then he pushed himself away, floating further down the corridor.

Mark stood there, stunned and still smiling like an idiot, and fervently wished it wasn't just the dinner Beck had been referring to. He would have loved to see him after that too. In his bunk. Or in Beck's one. He wasn't picky. He was a gentleman like that.

When he went to the common room to have dinner, still faintly smiling at attracting suspicious looks from the Commander, he couldn't help but blush as Johanssen winked at him. Did she know? Or was he just paranoid? No, damn, he wasn't. That was definitely an I-know-what-you-have-been-up-to look that she had in her eyes. He wondered if she wasn't jealous, before he saw her making thumbs up at Beck when he got in the room, too.

It was then that he understood Johanssen had been Beck's confident, much like Lewis had offered to be his one. They were friends, and that was as far as their relationship went. So much for his mindless jealousy, Mark thought darkly, angry with himself for being an idiot. Johanssen was on their side, she had been the whole time, clearly enjoying playing matchmaker or something like that.

He smiled for the duration of the whole dinner. No matter how much Martinez made fun of him.

\- - -

Chris had been impulsive for the first time in years, taking an enormous risk, and he had never felt happier in his life. As he floated down the corridor, a little smirk on his face and Mark's shocked expression still in his mind, he felt better than he had in a long time. Happy, ecstatic, relieved.

Beth was right, in the end: Mark really had an enormous crush over him. He wondered how he had never understood it before, because, thinking about it now, it was pretty evident. But Chris had never really felt confident about it before, since his crewmate had never done anything even remotely suspicious to give him a hint. Beth though, she had always been so confident, she kept telling him that it was evident, and Chris was blind if he couldn't see it. She had spent long evenings listening to him whine about his one-sided attraction for the Alpha, and Chris had lost count of how many times she had looked at him with her kind eyes showing affection and compassion, and told him that it was all but one-sided. In the end, she had proved herself right. Of course he was right, Chris thought. She always was, brilliant and observant as she is.

So, Chris had gathered the courage to kiss Mark when he had been presented the perfect opportunity. He had thought,  _it's now or never_ . And he had done it. And just like that, he had found himself the luckiest man in the galaxy.

Mark was subtle in his shows of affection, he had to be, but he was also sincere and caring and passionate. Their secret relationship had started with a chaste kiss stolen in the middle of a corridor, floating in 0g. Chris felt his attraction for the man grow bigger and bigger every passing day, and by now it was a wonder how nobody had understood what was going on.

The first couple of weeks, they shared secret hugs and quick kisses in the privacy their little lab granted for a few hours every day. It was enough, for both of them. They had to take it one step at a time. The kisses grew more and more passionate though and left them both panting, and the hugs were the most comforting Chris had ever been given. He wasn't really an hugger, never had been, but those were definitely the best hugs ever. Mark beamed at him when he said so, one day.

"Best hugs ever, uh?"

"Of course."

"Well yours are not bad either," he joked, nosing at Chris's neck. "I'm really glad I found you, Chris."

"I'm really happy to have you, too," he whispered back, and he meant it, with every single cell in his body.

It was difficult, for both of them, to break the hug and go back to their respective experiments, but they had a schedule to keep and reports to file. NASA would be irritated if they all of a sudden fell back with their tasks, and no doubt Lewis would become suspicious, more than she already was.

A few hours later, just after dinner, Chris forced himself to leave Mark's side and go talk to Beth. She was his best friend, after all, and he had already cut the amount of time they spent together in favor of spending it with Mark. She understood, and she was obviously supportive, but Chris felt guilty anyway. Not to mention she was his best friend, and talking to her always made him smile.

"Aww, look at you, all smiley and disgustingly happy," she joked that night. "You're definitely in love."

"Shh! Beth, come on!" he hissed back, fearing someone would overhear their conversation.

He looked around to make sure onbody had. It was highly unlikely: Vogel and Lewis were deep in conversation while Martinez was joking with Mark, no doubt planning a new prank. Still, better safe than sorry.

"Ah, don't worry Chris, your secret is safe with me."

"I know, I know, sorry. I'm just paranoid. This whole situation actually makes me nervous, that's all."

"Because you have to keep it secret? It's just for a little while. I know it seems such a long time, and you don't like lying, but try to think of it this way: when we get back, you won't have to hide anymore."

"I know. But- it's not just that," he confessed, eyes low.

Immediately Beth became serious. She shifted her weight and inched closer to him. "What's wrong, Chris?"

"I haven't told him, yet."

"The L word?" she clarified, even though she already suspected that much.

He nodded. She let out a huff of air. "There's no need to say it out loud. Not yet. Not if you're not ready. Take your time, Chris. There's still a long journey ahead of us. And I'm pretty sure he already knows and reciprocates, anyway."

Her words comforted him, but Chris still couldn't put his mind away from it. Beth sensed it.

“Everything is really gonna be fine,” She whispered in his ear, and Chris felt himself smile. Taking her hand in his ones, he caressed her soft skin.

"Thank you, Beth."

They all went back to their own quarters not long after that, saying goodnight to each other. NASA had carefully planned their hours to give them a resemblance of normality, and for the next seven hours they were expected to sleep and rest, much like they would have done on Earth at night. Only you couldn't really talk about night and day when you were on a spaceship.

Once changed into his pajamas - a pair of gym shorts and a long sleeved shirt - Chris climbed under the covers of his bed and dimmed the lights to the lowest setting. The bunks were never completely dark. In case of emergency, they had to be able to see at least a bit, not to stumble over the minimal furniture they had in there.

He stayed there in complete silence, listening to the humming of the ship's equipments in the distance, all of those familiar sounds by now. As minutes ticked away, Chris relaxed and felt his body be overcome by sleep almost completely, when a soft knock on the door awoke him once again.

"Come in," he said, wondering who was on the other side of the door.

When it opened, Mark stepped inside. Chris's eyes took in his figure in the shadow, clad in a pair of pajama bottoms and a light t-shirt that left almost nothing to the imagination. His nostrils took in Mark's familiar scent, and a wave of lust washed over him.

"Can I?" Mark asked before he got in any further.

Chris sat on the bed, the blankets pooling around him. "Of course. What's wrong, Mark?"

Mark just shook his head. "Nothing's wrong, don't worry. I was just missing you," he whispered, getting down on his knees to the side of the bed to be at the same height as Chris.

Chris immediately reached out his arms around the other man's shoulders, pulling him into a hug. He hid his face in the crook of his neck, and inhaled deeply at Mark's scent, strong as it was in such proximity to his scent glands. Mark smelled of fresh woods and rain and dew, and Chris loved it.

Chris couldn't help but brush his nose where he knew the glands were, a subconscious gesture that was something natural for an Omega and increased the level of scent the body normally produced. He inhaled and smiled against his skin. Mark let out a muffled groan.

"God, you drive me crazy," he murmured, and Chris moaned in response, feeling Mark's fingers tighten their grip on his back, the tips sinking in his skin.

"I could say the same about you," he replied, then sloppily kissed Mark on his lips.

The kiss was lively, deeper and longer than theirs usually were, and Chris gasped as he felt Mark's tongue gently poke at his lower lip, asking for permission. Chris opened his mouth sightly, granting the other man access, and their tongues met and got to know each other a bit better. Mark broke the kiss only when both of them were gasping for air.

And then they begun it once again, lips meeting and noses bumping, hands frantically moving. Chris's roamed over Mark's back and then to his hips, up to his abs, toned and strong; Mark's went south, to Chris's lower back, then on his ass, squeezing his cheeks and making the Omega shudder.

“Oh my God,” Chris moaned, immediately silenced by another kiss. The walls on the ship were thin, and they had to be careful.

“Shh,” Mark whispered as Chris moved, making room for him on the bed. 

The Alpha climbed up and slid his legs under the covers, lying on his side facing the doctor, and Chris immediately draped his knee over Mark's hips, pulling them even closer. They kept kissing and groping against each other, exploring their bodies in a new-found privacy that still imposed them to be quiet. In the silence of the room, the only sound heard was the one of their sloppy kisses and tender caresses, of skin against skin.

And then, lips free from Mark as they took in some much needed air, Chris said it. It came out as a natural thing, and it felt terribly right.

“I love you.”

Mark stilled in his arms, his head snapping up and his eyes meeting Chris, wide in surprise. The Alpha looked at him, stunned, and Chris feared he had gone too far too fast, he feared Mark would leave him, oh God what would he do then? He would be destroyed by the loss. But what if the Alpha didn't feel the same way about him? What if his feelings weren't so deep and he had scared him with the force of his words?

Chris panicked, breath coming in short gasps and lungs feeling tight, constricting. He pushed Mark's arm away from his chest, trying to crawl away from him, to find some space in the narrow bed and put some distance between them. He felt like he couldn't breathe all of a sudden, like all the air had been sucked out of the room.

“Hey, Chris. Baby. Calm down, will you?” 

Mark. That was Mark's voice he was hearing over the sound of his blood in his ears, and it was caring but also slightly frightened, there was a flutter in it that screamed of barely controlled panic. And those were Mark's fingers caressing his cheek and wiping the tears from his eyes.

_When had he begun crying?,_ he wondered.

“Shh, Chris, it's all okay,” Mark called him, bringing him back to reality. “It's okay, I'm sorry I was just... dumbfounded, that's all. I wasn't expecting it. But I love you, too. I love you so much it hurts to breathe. I love you, I do,” he said.

Mark murmured nonsense in his ear and gave him small kisses. His broad hands held Chris and caressed his back and his chest as he kept talking, and slowly Chris's heartbeat calmed down and his lungs expanded, letting air come to him once again. Chris breathed deeply – but not so frantically as to cause himself to hyperventilate – and felt his head clear up a bit. Finally, Chris sagged against him, going pliant in his arms. Mark pulled him to his chest and Chris felt warm lips brush over his forehead, kissing him tenderly and so lovingly. On instinct, his fingers closed around Mark's shirt with so much force they hurt, but Chris didn't want to leave it, leave him, ever again.

He had been so irrational, so stupid. It wasn't in his chords to panic for nothing, he was a calm man fully capable to control his instincts, and yet he had let fear overcome him for such a small thing, he had panicked like a baby, making a fool of himself. He let out a small whimper of defeat.

“Shh. Come on baby, it's all okay,” Mark whispered comfortingly in his ear, brushing the hair out of his eyes.

When he did, Chris's reddened ones met Mark's kind eyes and they looked at each other before the Omega sank his head in the Alpha's broad chest.

“I'm so sorry,” he said, words coming out muffled by the shirt. “I don't know what came over me.”

Mark's fingers were a comforting presence in his hair, much like his solid body was grounding, against him.

“No, Chris, I'm the one who's sorry. I should have said something,” Chris felt him shake his head. “I love you, Christopher Beck, with all my heart.”

Chris pulled back from Mark's chest with a frantic movement, and raised his head to meet his lips. Passion and relief were bleeding from the kiss. “I love you too. I love you, I love you,” he said, over and over, until they both calmed down a bit and laid on their sides once again, facing each other.

They fell asleep like that, despite the risk of being caught, listening to the sound of the other breathing. Chris had never felt safer and warmer in his whole life.

\- - -

The following morning, he opened his eyes to the sight of an empty bed. Scratching his nose and trying to clear his head, Chris got on his elbows and looked around with bleary eyes. He was feeling serene, happy even, but where had Mark gone? He knew it had not been just a dream, everything had felt way too real to be just his subconscious imagination talking in the middle of the night. Not to mention that Mark's scent was still lingering around in the room. Chris grabbed the blankets and brought them to his nose, inhaling deeply. Yes, here it was, Mark's rich scent.

The doctor let himself fall back against the mattress, pulling one arm over his face and closing his eyes. The previous night had been a nightmare and a dream molten together, Heaven and Hell at the same time in a roller-coaster of emotions. He had told Mark his feelings, and the lack of an immediate answer had sent him into a loop of panic. That alone was enough for Chris to understand that his feelings were absolutely concrete and genuine. Then, Mark had been a perfect gentleman, the kind of Alpha every teenage Omega dreamt of: caring, protective, reassuring. He had calmed Chris down with soft kisses and secret words, had made sure his Omega was okay, and had overall been there just for him.

Chris sighed and smiled, sleepily. He had said the L word, Mark had said it back. And he knew the botanist meant it. Contented, Chris thought things couldn't be better.

\- - -

In the following months, the relationship between mark and Chris grew to all new levels. The botanist felt like the luckiest man on Earth. No, the luckiest man in the whole universe. Chris was the perfect match for him.

After that first misunderstanding – that's how Mark liked to thing about it – there had never been any crisis between them. A little bit of banter, some teasing, occasional playful discussion? Of course. But nothing more serious than that.

During the days, they worked efficiently at their own stations, had meals with the crew and spent time with the people that had become their friends with each passing day. Mark knew that Lewis had her suspicions – the woman was incredibly clever and, well, she was a woman, she had a sixth sense for stuff like that. She gave him the stink eye one morning when he patted Chris's back for a bit too long and a little too fondly, but he was fairly sure that her suspicions were just that: suspicions, and nothing more. She had not kicked him out of an airlock yet, after all.

Martinez, too, suspected something. The son of a bitch was a slut for gossip and he always happened to be around when he and Chris took a few moments to just be together in their lab, hugging and kissing and  _just being_ . Well, during the first week alone when they had first been together, Martinez had interrupted them three different times, stumbling into the lab unannounced. Only their quick reflexes had prevented him from seeing a b i t too much. 

“He's the King of Cockblocking, I swear!” Mark had exclaimed one day.

“Except there's no cock involved in what we do in the lab,” Chris had teased, the little shit. Mark had growled.

Mark had to admit he was right, though. There was never cock involved when they were together. Their relationship was not a platonic one, far from it. Touching and groping were actually a pretty common thing for them, but they had never pushed things beyond that. That was a limit they had to respect, that much was clear. Chris was on suppressants, of course, so there was no pregnancy risk, but the ship wasn't exactly the most romantic nor intimate place to do the deed, and Mark deep down was a romantic guy. When he and Chris decided it was time to officially bond – knot and bite on the neck and all that – they would make sure to do it in a proper bedroom, in a king-size bed with silk linens and soft pillows, and all the time in the world just for the two of them.

They usually spent the night in Chris's bed, but Mark always got in after the rest of the crew had already retired to sleep, and he got up and left before they woke up. It would have been safer for him not to spend the night there at all, but Mark just couldn't resist it. A warm body flushed against him in the narrow bed, Chris's soft breaths on his neck...

Once half an hour before the crew usually awoke, Vogel had seen him in the corridor where the doors to all their quarters were, and Mark had pretended he had been coming back from the bathroom, not sneaking back inside his room like a teenager. He wasn't sure the German had understood what he had said, eyes so bleary and clouded with sleep, but it had been enough to give him a heart attack.

“I swear I was gonna die!” he had told Chris later that day.

“You're always so melodramatic.”

And finally, the time to reach Mars had come. This was their last night on the Hermes. Tomorrow, the MDV would bring them down to the surface of the red planet. This was a kid's wet dream coming true.

As he laid in Chris's bed, he said that much.

“So you always dreamt of becoming an astronaut?” Chris asked him, Mark's hand in his ones.

“I always felt a pull for the sky. I spent a lot of summer nights looking at the stars when I was a child. My dad bought me my first telescope. I still have it, in my old bedroom at my parent's place. Maybe I'll bring you see it, someday?” he asked, tentatively. Talking about the future wasn't something they usually did, mostly because they were stuck on the ship for a lot more months anyhow, but eventually they would have to.

Chris kissed the tip of his nose, something Mark had come to discover the Omega loved.  “ I'd be glad to see it and meet your parents. Your dad seems like a cool guy.”

Mark grinned at the words.

“He is. I mean, we've never been rich, but he took on some extra shifts to buy me that telescope as a birthday gift,” he explained. “He's really a fantastic man.” That was still one of the best memories he had of his dad. That birthday had been a great one, even if his friends had said his gift was lame.

“What about you, sweetheart? You always dreamt of seeing Mars?”

Chris shrugged against him. “No. It just... happened, sort of. I went to medical school, then there was so much talking of the Ares Program when I was one year shy of my degree. I thought, it would be so  _cool_ to be up there. So, here I am.”

“I'm glad you're here,” Mark whispered.

Chris chuckled and turned, resting his back against the mattress and pulling Mark over him. The botanist remembered the first time this had happened. It had been messy and a bit comical, too. He had bumped his head against the low ceiling more than once, cursing the gravity in the room, just enough to keep them anchored to the bed, was not nearly correspondent to the one back on Earth. Also, the ceiling over the bunks was particularly low, less than one meter high, because in the space above the beds the designers had put a small alcove to host the astronauts' personal items.

Mark felt his eyes grow dark with lust at the sight of the beautiful Omega under him, his legs apart with just enough space for him to fit in. Chris was the sexiest man he had ever seen; the thin fabric of the shirt left the lean but muscular chest well visible.

They kissed and Chris's hands on his hips pulled their groins together. Mark groaned in Chris's mouth at the feeling of their hard-ons touching each other through the thin layers of their clothes. He grinds down to increase the pleasant friction. They bumped against one another like teenagers, giggling and moaning, but all in all being as quiet as possible. Mark felt his cock twitch and grow harder and harder the more Chris's warmth grew against him. Under him, the doctor was panting, eyelids half lidded in pleasure and lips red as cherries, hands grasping Mark's hips.

Mark lowered his hand and pushed his underwear down just enough to free his dick, then did the same for Chris who raised his hips to make it easier. When their erections touched, they both gasped. Then Mark pulled Chris's lips in a kiss as he took both of them in his hand and begun stroking. His hand moved so painfully slowly along their shafts that Beck squirmed under him.

“Fuck,” Chris panted, and it echoed in the silence of the room. “Faster, Mark, come on.” 

He didn't scream it – they had no such a privilege – but Mark could bet he would have if he could. He shifted all his weight on one arm, firmly pushed against the mattress on Chris's side to avoid crushing the Omega, and sped up the rhythm, much to the doctor's pleasure.

They had done this enough times that Mark knew what Chris liked. A flick of the wrist would be enough to push the Omega over the edge. But Mark waited a bit more, savoring this moment as much as he could. There wouldn't be privacy of any of this in the Hab, where they would have almost no privacy at all. He begun stroking faster as he found the doctor's cherry lips and muffled his moans that way. The pleasure built in his chest and he knew his orgasm was not far. Looking at Chris, pale skin wonderfully flushed, eyelids half lidded and mouth sluggishly hanging open, he knew the doctor wouldn't last long, too. The sight made his cock inflate.

So he sped up the rhythm a bit more, his hand jerking them frenetically, and when his thumb found the head of Chris cock – already slick with precum – and teased it, he took them both over the edge. Chris's back arched sinuously and his chest touched Mark's as the orgasm him him, spilling white seed over Mark's hand.

The Omega buried his face in the crook of Mark's neck and panted against his skin and the shadow of a beard he was spotting. He let out a passionate moan that made Mark's knees go weak. Instinctively like it was for every Alpha, he growled possessively, tightening his grip around the doctor. The sight, the sound, all those sensations together were enough to bring Mark there, too, and he bit Chris's shoulder with a muffle groan, closing his eyes and riding the pleasure.

He sank his teeth in the flesh right over his collarbone – avoiding a much more tempting spot on his neck, but there would be time for that, too – and pounded his hips against his hand and Chris's chest until he rid the orgasm completely. Chris's hands on his hips encouraged him and accompanied his movements.

Mark fell on Chris's chest when his elbow couldn't support his weight anymore, his body exhausted in a delicious way. His erection was flagging and Chris's already had, their biology so different but perfectly completing each other. The doctor let out a strangled ' _oof_ ', but his arms came up around Mark's shoulders and he pulled him even more against his chest if it was possible. None of them minded the sticky mess on their stomachs. 

Mark smiled, Chris's heat and scent surrounding him like a warm blanket in a cold winter night, making him cuddly and sleepy.  “ Am I crushing you?” he mumbled.

He felt Chris kiss his sweaty hair. “No, I'm good,” the doctor replied, his voice sounding more awake than Mark's. “I love you, Mark.”

It was so easy now to say it, for both of them.  “Love you too,” he replied, blinking owlishly against the edge of sleep.

“Tomorrow I'm gonna be on Mars and tonight I had the best almost-sex of my life with you. I couldn't ask for anything more even if I wanted.”

“That makes the two of us, then,” he sighed contentedly, his nose brushing the shirt covering the Omega's chest.

He fell asleep against Chris's body with a dorky smile on the face. One of his oldest dream would become reality in less than twenty-four hours, but for now he felt like he already had anything could ever wish.

\- - -

Everything went to hell on Sol 6. It happened so fast Chris couldn't really grasp it. One moment Mark was there, walking with them through the sand storm and toward the MAV to evacuate before the MAV tipped, and the next he was gone. The pressure in his suit dropped, his vitals flattened. Mark died.

Chris didn't remember how he got to the MAV, into his seat, and back on Hermes. He moved on autopilot, motions mechanical memorized by muscle memory after hours of training in Houston.

Then he came back to himself in the airlock, with Johanssen looking at him, worried, as they all removed their suits in complete silence. That was when he felt something was wrong, so deeply, painfully wrong he could barely breathe. There was an ugly feeling in his chest, his insides were twisted up and tight, and his skin was sweaty and unusually hot while his belly felt constricted. When a shiver ran down his spine and a cramp hit him, he understood.

Chris knew an intense shock could send an Omega into an early heat in extreme situations. Said heat wasn't like the usual ones, when the prevailing feeling was lust, with the urge to be bred. This was an extreme physical pain, accompanied by fever and cramps and shakes, sometimes convulsions, and could be incredibly dangerous. If not properly treated, it could kill the already debilitated Omega; it was a more common occurrence than he would have liked to think. Chris had studied it back in medical school, so he knew the shock had to be connected to the sudden loss of an Alpha or a pup and the strong bond they shared as a family, and it only happened in young Omegas, young enough to still be able to procreate. The break of such a powerful bond was the only factor that could cause that intense reaction.

He and Mark had never bonded though, his brain cried. Mark had never marked him as his, he hadn't bit his neck, nor had he ever knotted Chris. Chris wasn't pregnant with his pups. But somehow the bond had happened, forged in the past months by their secret relationship, and grown steadily with their affection and love for one another. It was something old men and women talked about, the legend of a love so powerful and pure it was capable of generating a bond as hefty as the one of a married couple. It was uncommon to say the least. There were maybe four cases every year from all over the world reporting such a thing happening.

A cramp hit Chris and he curled in on himself, hissing in pain.

“Chris!” Beth shouted his name, and suddenly there were strong arms with a German insignia supporting him.

“Beck? What's wrong?” the Commander called him, but another wave of pain hit him and he squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth.

“My- my room,” he groaned, knees shaking under his weight as his scent became stronger and pungent, no doubt reaching the nostrils of everyone. “It's... early heat,” he panted, unable to further explain himself, to tell his crewmates what was happening. More cramps hit him, and he began sweating.

Vogel cursed in German and immediately Martinez was there helping him, gently but quickly escorting him to his bunk.

“Come on, let's go buddy,” Martinez said, pulling him down the corridor with Beth hoovering behind him. After her came Lewis.

Vogel and Martinez did their best to move him quickly in the 0 g. It wasn't easy, though, and Chris was doubled over in pain by the time they got there. Once in the corridor where all their rooms were, Chris was ushered inside his quarters and gently laid on his bed, Beth immediately pulling the covers up over his body as he curled up on himself. God, it hurt. It hurt more than anything Chris had ever felt. Eyes shut, he tried to breathe through his nose, but the pain didn't recede and he whimpered.

“Give him some space to breathe, come on,” Lewis ordered, and they all went outside.

The door was closed, sliding back in place silently, but on the other side of the corridor Chris could feel the them arguing. Their voices were a few feet away from him, but they seemed so far away, the pain clouding everything else.

“What's that?” Beth asked in a panicky voice.

“I don't know, he wasn't hit by any debris down there, and on the MAV he was fine!”

“That's not that. That's the effect of a broken bond,” Vogel interjected. The German had followed some medical courses in Houston: in case something happened to Chris, he was the one with the necessary skills to intervene. At the moment, though, he was talking more from experience than anything else. He had seen the same happen to his oldest sister, four years before.

“A broken... Oh no.”

“Fuck.”

“Goddammit.”

“How did it happen? I mean, when? I didn't know it.”

“Did any of you know they had bonded?” the Commander asked, her tone brusque.

“No, of course not.”

“Beth?”

“No, they'd never do something like that on the ship. And Chris would have told me anyway.”

“Well clearly they did. Dammit!”

“Calm down, Martinez.”

“My best friend just died and his Omega is feeling bond withdrawal or however it's called!”

“He was our friend too, let's not lose our minds here. We have to think clearly. What do we do now?”

There were some more words, but Chris couldn't keep up with the conversation anymore.

Mark was dead. His mind knew it, his body knew it too, but his heart couldn't really understand, not yet. But he knew. God, he knew. He had lost his lover before they could create something together, build a family, properly make love... This was unfair. Everything, his whole life was unfair. He had been given a taste of happiness, and nothing more. The thought made Chris sob, and he did his best to muffle the sound against he pillow.

But suddenly, the corridor outside was quiet.

“Chris?” a voice called from the other side of the door. “Can I come in?”

It was Lewis, and he couldn't deny her permission even if he wanted to. She was the Commander, after all. He did his best to even his breathing.

The door slid open and she stepped inside and slowly walked towards the bed, sitting in the only chair in there, right in front of him. Elbows on her knees, she looked at him with strangely sympathetic eyes. Chris had never seen her look like that – compassionate and pitying – and he wished he never had to. Still, he couldn't really feel ashamed. He couldn't really  _feel_ , point.

“Why didn't you tell me, Chris?” she asked him, breaking the silence. There was no need to further elaborate: they both knew what she was talking about.

Chris felt tears threaten to fall on his cheeks. “I didn't know,” he whispered.

Her eyes widened in surprise. “What? I mean, how couldn't you know?”

“We never bonded. I swear we didn't, Commander” he sobbed, breaking down in front of her, and he pulled the collar of his shirt down, exposing his neck completely, for emphasis. And sure as hell, there were no marks there, no signs of a bite on pale flesh. Lewis's jaw dropped.

“How is it possible, Chris?”

“It's really uncommon,” he said through gritted teeth; the waves of pain were coming more forceful now, and it would only worsen in the next hour. He slowly breathed through his nose, knowing what a sticky mess he was making in his pants. “It happens to – to less than one percent of the global population each year. Nobody – no one knows why. It's a bond that grows by – by itself. There's no fo-formal bonding. No biting. No – no knotting,” he managed to spill.

He looked Lewis in the eyes, holding her searching gaze, and he saw her disbelief slowly disappear, replaced by a deep surprise. She knew he was telling the truth, and Chris was grateful he still had her trust.

“You know we couldn't have knotted here, Commander. No – no way nobody wouldn't have heard us.”

She blushed at his words, and nodded. Yes, she believed him. Lewis let out a sigh.

“Okay, Chris. That's okay. Thank you for telling me, and thanks for not breaking my trust in you in the first place. I believe you,” she reassured him, her hand reaching out for his one, squeezing gently, completely unfazed by his clammy palm.

Chris let out a quiet sob of thankfulness and desperation at the same time, but the heat grew in intensity and more pain came and he closed his fingers in a fist. It was shameful to be seen this way, as an Omega and as a doctor, by people who had become friends, and from the Commander more than anyone else. He curled up on himself. Lewis's hand touched his shoulder softly.

“Tell me what I can do.”

“I have my suppressants in the lab. They're in one of the cabinets, a blue little box. I need them,” he whimpered through the agony. “They won't top the heat, but it will be shorter. They'll help.”

“Okay, I'll go grab them. Be right back.”

Lewis got out of the room, Chris heard the door close behind her, and he focused on keeping his breathing slow and even, exercising all the relaxing therapeutic techniques he had learned during the years. Still, it seemed ages had gone by in a haze of pain before the door slid open again.

Opening his eyes, he watched Beth and Martinez come in. Rick was holding the blue box containing the three syringes he had been provided with at the beginning of the mission. He sat on the chair where Lewis was before. Beth sat down on the mattress next to him, small as she was. Her hand found its way to his hair and started petting it. The gesture felt strangely comforting, and Chris's body relaxed slightly at the contact.

“Here you go, doc,” Martinez said, handing him the box. 

The blue box was made of plastic, with the name and brand of the suppressant on the side. It was the best of what could be found on the market, thankful to NASA, and Chris hoped it would shorten the heat of a couple of days. In the box, the syringes stood, all three of them – the one for the return trip, that he would use now, and two more for emergencies.

“You need help to sit up?” Martinez asked when Chris had pulled out one of the syringes, and closed the lid of the box to keep the other two safe in it. At his nod, Rick was there helping him sitting in a comfortable position as Beth adjusted the pillow behind his back.

As he moved though, Chris felt the slick liquid that had pooled between his tights slide down, soaking his clothes and staining the sheet and mattress underneath him. His smell became pungent and acrid in the small room. Martinez gasped in surprise and held his breath, and Beth looked vaguely uncomfortable. Chris felt incredibly ashamed, his cheeks reddening in a blush what spread all over his face. He knew he was blushing before he felt the heat on his skin, and he let out a quiet sob, hiding his face in his hands. These were his friends, seeing him a mess like that.

“Hey. No, buddy, come on. It's alright,” Martinez immediately reassured him.

Chris felt one big, calloused hand touch his, gently, and sobbed once again. Martinez's fingers stroke his, soothing. Beth reached out and pulled Chris against her shoulder, and he felt the warmth she emanated, so comforting, so reassuring.

“Buddy, it's okay, really.”

“Chris, hey, come on, it's fine. Everything is alright, no need to be ashamed,” Beth assured him, a hand stroking his hair as the other pulled the syringe away from his fingers and in the safety of her hands. The last thing they needed right now was breaking it and the suppressant it contained.

“Chris, we swear it's okay, _we_ are okay. We're here to help you,” Martinez went on, his fingers curling around his and gently coaxing the hands away from his face.

At the beginning, Chris put on a bit of resistance. He didn't want to show his face. But as Martinez pulled a bit more, he let go. He was simply too tired to keep fighting. And anyway, he thought, they had already seen what a little pathetic Omega he was. Head lowered, he kept his eyes cast, looking at his own knees, as his hands were pulled away.

“There you go,” Martinez said.

Beth didn't say anything, she simply held him a bit tighter, her fingers still running through his hair in a familiar gesture. _Mark had loved playing with his hair. Mark wouldn't play with his hair anymore._

“Oh Chris.”

He hadn't meant to say that out loud, yet there his words were. Beth kissed his head and Martinez looked at him helplessly, probably not knowing what to do at all. Was Chris one of those people who craved for human contact after a loss? Or was him one of those who wished to stay alone? Rick had no idea, so he settled for being the practical friend more than the consoling one. The doctor couldn't be more grateful for it. He took the syringe from Beth and gave it back to Chris.

“Come on, doc. The sooner you take it, the better. Right?”

Chris nodded. “Yes, you're right.”

With his left hand, he pulled the right sleeve as far up as I could go, tapping in the crook of his elbow to expose the vein. The proper procedure would have needed sterilized cotton and alcohol to disinfect the area, but right now that was the last of his worries. The Hermes was an extremely clean spaceship, and even if his room wasn't exactly sterile, he knew he wouldn't catch any infection either.

Pulling the safety cup from the head of the needle, he angled his hand, ready to inject the suppressant in his vein, where it would act quickly. But as he lowered the needle near the skin, he understood his shakes were too strong. He tried two times to find the vein, and in both cases his trembling fingers and the pain made it impossible. Finally, Martinez took his hand in his one, and Beth's fingers found his wrist to steady it.

“You point the direction doc, we keep you steady,” Rick said, like it was no big deal, like he was not the doctor who should be able to do that with his eyes closed. 

The needle penetrated the skin and the vein, and the liquid suppressant was shot inside, slowly and steadily. Then the syringe was retracted and put in the little bin in the corner. Chris closed his eyes as tears blurred his vision, and rested his head on Beth's shoulder.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“No problem, buddy.”

“Anytime, Chris.”

Chris hoped there would never be another time like that in his life. Never again.

\- - -

The weeks passed after the incident. That's what they called it on the Hermes. Lewis wrote daily reports, the others wrote biweekly ones. They shared dinners and breakfasts, and did their best to go on.

Lewis had spent the first days after Watney's death working as much as she could. That had always been her way to cope with pain, grief, loss. Maybe it wasn't healthy, but no one would tell her that, here. Their resident doctor for once wasn't giving them all one of his health lectures. Lewis wished he would. That would have meant something was still normal, at least.

Vogel was the most stoic one. Nobody was really surprised by that. He never addressed the subject of Mark's death, and his eulogy was short and pointed. What could have been mistaken for coldness, indifference or disinterestedness was his way to be strong. His presence was calm and subdued, but he was there to help his crewmates as much as he could. For the four days during which Dr. Beck had been indisposed, he had acted like the ship's doctor, twice a day going into Beck's cabin to check on him, too. Beck had instructed him on what was going on when he had been lucid enough to do so, giving him important advice. But the Omega could barely get up most of the time, with the cramps he had and the trembling in his legs. He barely drank some soup once a day, and the very first time Vogel had seen him, he had thought about Helena. Her face had superimposed on Beck's in an horrific image of pain that had hit him like a punch. He couldn't imagine his beloved mate in those conditions. It hurt too much.

Martinez found comfort in prayers. He was the most devotee on the Hermes, and the presence of God by his side was comforting, even if he didn't have his Cross anymore. He had left it in the Hab during the evacuation. He hoped it would protect Mark's grave for the rest of Eternity. In those first days his jokes were rare and dull, but he still could draw a smile from the rest of the crew, even if it was forced. It wasn't the same without Mark there, and it never would be again.

Beth had no God to pray, and no best friend's shoulder to cry on. She was an Atheist, always had been. Since was her religion. And her best friend was Chris, who was in no condition to be her supporting shoulder right now, lost as he was in his own grief, added to the physical pain he was going through. She went and visited him before going to bed, trying to be a comforting presence. They mostly spent that time in silence. But at least they were together. Beth had lost her collection of Agatha Christie's books during the evacuation, too, so the last resource had been rush headlong into the work she had to do. She was as much a workaholic as the Commander, but with less need to sleep. Essentially, the bags under her eyes became heavy like they hadn't been since she was seventeen, spending her nights hacking and her days studying.

Chris remembered pain. The first four days after the evacuation had been made of blinding pain. The heat was making his body burn with fever and cramps, sweat on his forehead and clothes sticking to his body. Vogel had come to make sure his conditions wouldn't worsen twice a day, forcing him to eat some soup. Chris had instructed him on what to do, and the German was himself a mated Alpha: his protective instincts were in overdrive right now, even if it wasn't for his own mate. Vogel even helped him to the shower stall at the end of the corridor one day. He would have helped him shower, too, but Chris still had a bit of self-esteem and pride in him.

Chris had spent his days in bed, crying and sobbing and trying to analyze if there was something he could have done differently, something to help Mark, to save him. And then, the heat had passed, the suppressants finally kicking in after four days of hell. His temperature had lowered, the trembling passing. He had gotten up at 3pm, walked in the desert corridor and gone to the shower where he had flushed and scrubbed the remaining slick away from his skin. Then he had floated to the kitchen to have the first proper meal since  _that day_ .

None of them were fine. They had lost a friend, a crewmate, and so much more. But the first weeks passed, then the first two months, and the journey back to Earth went on in a quiet monotony. Space-traveling wasn't so funny and exciting anymore, though.

Then, the message from Mitch Henderson happened. As Beth opened it, she thought it was the usual boring, bureaucratic communication from NASA and nothing more. But when she heard his words, she thought she was still dreaming. She pinched her forearm. She didn't wake up. This was a nightmare, and Beth was living it. There was no waking up; she was already awake. They all were.

The crew fell silent, but five pairs of eyes turned on Chris. The Omega was an unhealthy white, the pallor of his skin made him look sick.

\- - -

Chris  _was_ sick. His stomach rolled, and only quick reflexes made him run fast enough to reach the sink in the kitchen before his stomach emptied its contents. Beth was there, her hand on his back.

He heard Lewis in the distance. “I left him.”

No, she didn't. Chris did. Declaring him dead, Chris had left Mark on Mars. Lewis would have kept looking. Chris had condemned his mate to die on a desert planet. He had killed him.

Retching violently, he felt his knees sag and his vision darken.

\- - -

The Rich Purnell maneuver was crazy and ingenious at the same time. When Beth had decrypted the files and Vogel had understood what the data really were, Lewis had called for a meeting, and Chris had wondered what was going on. He had noticed Beth's odd behavior and Vogel's unusually disturbed looks, but he would have never guessed something like that. Sitting at the table that had one permanently unoccupied chair, Chris had felt hope blossom in his chest.

As the Commander had explained what was going on, the choice they were facing, the consequences it implied, Chris had kept his cool as best as he could. He had listened to Lewis and Vogel, and had kept his mouth shut, in no way wanting to steer the others' decisions – no matter how much he wanted to intervene.

For one irrational moment he worried they wouldn't come back. He knew the others loved Mark as much as he did – only in a different way – but still they had careers and families to think of, and mutiny would destroy their chances to go back to space again. But he shouldn't have worried. Martinez agreed before the Commander was even finished talking, and Vogel's voice was firm when he said yes. Beth looked at him for a moment before she gave her consent, too. Chris's will wasn't even asked. They all knew what he would have said.

So nobody really said anything when he raised his fist in the air and the biggest, dorkiest smile appeared on his face, a smile Chris hadn't smiled in months, a grin that lit up the whole room. The doctor felt full of newfound energy and optimism. He was euphoric, there was no other word to describe him. Something stirred in his chest, a spark of life that hadn't been there in the previous months.

When Beth hugged him, he whispered  _thank you_ in her ear.

“What for?” she asked, a sincere smile on her face. “I would have done it no matter what, Chris.”

A week had passed since that day. The executive decision had been made and communicated – a bit theatrically, that for sure – to NASA, and his crewmates had been preoccupied to make sure everything was going to go perfectly smoothly. There were small repairs to be made on the ship, maintenance to take care of, and calculations to complete.

Chris, for his part, was making sure the EVA necessary to bring the food rations on the Hermes would go well. That was the key for not only Mark's survival, but also theirs. Therefore he made and remade his calculations at least a hundred of times. He talked to Martinez, who, being their pilot, would have to coordinate everything. They remade the calculations again, together, another dozen times.

“That's it, Chris. No matter how many more times we go over everything again, this is the best we can do; we only have to confide in God's hands now.”

Chris wasn't so sure about confiding in hands that weren't his own, in this case. He didn't have a God complex like so many of his colleagues did, far from that. He was a humble man, conscious of his limits and mindful of his means. He would never play with the lives' of other people, and it wasn't his right to decide upon their deaths or survivals. His job was only to do his best to make them live. But now, Chris felt like he couldn't trust hands that weren't his ones.

The maneuver went smoothly, and the supplies were anchored to the Hermes without the need of an EVA on Chris's part. He would have been ready for it, but Martinez was probably the best pilot NASA had, and their calculations had proven right.

\- - -

More than one year had passed since the last time Chris had seen the red planet. Mars looked big and fascinating like the first time he had seen it. He remembered that last night on the Hermes with Mark, the kisses, the hushed words... His shook his head in the EVA suit and forced himself to focus on the present.

He was going to see Mark again in less than half an hour if things went well. Then, he would have all the time in the world to make new memories to add to the old ones.

“Beck? Are you ready?”

“Affirmative, Commander.”

“Vogel?”

“Ready, Commander.”

“Very well. We should make visual contact in a fifteen minutes.”

Chris's heart rate spiked. Looking outside, he saw the vast darkness of space and the surface of Mars. He squinted, illogically hoping he could spot the MAV somewhere. Obviously, he couldn't; not yet. But he let himself dream. It couldn't hurt him.

He felt Vogel shift beside him. The German was suited up, in case Chris needed support during the rescue. Lewis had been reluctant in her decision to have Chris rescue Mark, for obvious reasons. The Omega wasn't objective nor completely lucid, and Chris knew it, too. He was only human, after all, and despite his attempts to control his nerves, in the last few days he had snapped at Martinez four times. He would have to apologize.

_Later_ , he thought.

The Beta would never blame him for that, but it simply wasn't fair.

Removing his helmet in the safety of the airlock to make sure the official channels wouldn't catch his words, he around turned.

“Vogel?”

“Ja, Doctor Beck?”

“If... if something happens, and I need to reach Mark but I can't, you cut the tether.”

He knew his words were harsh and bossy; they sounded that way to his own ears. But now wasn't the time for compromises or discussions, and this wasn't something he would negotiate on.

“But Doctor, the Commander -”

“I know what she said, but if I need it, you have to let me go. Please,” Chris begged. He knew he was putting Vogel in a horrible situation – he would go against the direct orders of NASA and Lewis, and if things went irreparably south, Chris would die out there, too. But he needed to make sure he would do everything possible for Mark. He wouldn't survive losing him a second time.

“Listen, you don't have to say it. Just... if it happens, do what your heart tells you, don't rmind the orders,” he pleaded.

Chris looked at Vogel and met his eyes. Time seemed to stop, frozen, as he waited for the man's response. Chris needed him to agree, but he couldn't say anything more to persuade him. He just wished Vogel understood the meaning behind Chris's words. He hoped he understood, as a man with a mate and six pups back home, that the Omega would never forgive himself.

The German nodded subtly, and Chris nodded back. They had come to an agreement, and something told him the Alpha had understood perfectly. He suited up once again. They would intercept Mark in four minutes, and in less than two he would be able to see him.

\- - -

Mark had never landed his eyes on anything more beautiful than Chris Beck wearing an EVA suit and coming to his rescue.

“Hey handsome!” he shouted, excited and with his heart beating so fast he was sure his ribs would have cracked because of its force, if the MAV had not taken care of them already.

His sight was blurred with tears, and he knew he looked like shit, but Chris's smile was so radiant and beautiful he forgot anything else.

“Hey you,” the doctor's voice cracked, and there was silence in the comms, the others no doubt listening, but unwilling to interrupt.

Chris freed him from the belts keeping him anchored to the seat, then they were moving, dragged towards the Hermes – and was the ship missing something, or was Mark going nuts? - and finally they were pulled into the airlock. Mark did his best not to pass out, the joy that the nightmare was over overwhelming him.

He smiled at Vogel, and saw more emotion on the German's face than he had witnessed in three years of knowing each other. Then he turned towards Chris, who was discarding his suit.

Good God, Chris was beautiful. He was grinning like a lunatic, and there were tears in his eyes matching Mark's, and he was a bit leaner than the last time he had seen him maybe, but he was perfect, he was a wonderful vision for his tired eyes. His hair were exactly the same length and his eyes sparkled with happiness, and when he reached out and pulled Mark's helmet away, his movements were slow and calm, his hands never once shaking, firm and secure. Mark chuckled when they made contact with his cheeks.

Chris's fingers were long and warm and contemplating as they touched his face. Mark couldn't repress a sob.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said hurriedly, as Chris made to move those hands away, probably fearing he had accidentally hurt him. “Sorry, it's just. This is the first person who touches me in one year, and I'm so, so happy it's you.”

Chris smiled and a wet chuckle left his lips, as he kept stroking Mark's cheeks, his forehead, the dry lips.

It took much longer than it should have, but finally Mark was dragged to a small room, where Chris proceeded to give him a quick but careful physical. His hands were gentle as they checked his ribs and arm, and Mark raised his right hand to touch the doctor in front of him, the perfect Omega he had almost lost, the man he loved so much it hurt.

Chris stilled in his examination.

“You -” Mark began, but the emotion choked him up. “You look so beautiful, Chris. I missed you so much. God, I missed you so much,” he broke down in tears, pulling the doctor towards him, hiding his face in his neck, smelling his scent and feeling home for the first time in a year.

Chris's hands reached out around him and his hug was tight, even if mindful of the throbbing ribs. The Omega's voice was wet as well when he spoke. “I missed you too, Mark. I missed you so much it hurt. I love you.”

Mark let the tears fall, unashamed. It wasn't how an Alpha should have acted with their Omega; he should have been Chris's rock in this situation, making sure he was okay, taking care of him. But that's not how things ever worked with them, and right now he felt like he was the one in need of protection, no matter what his status demanded of him.

They stayed like that for long minutes, just breathing together, smelling each other, allowing themselves to believe it was real. Eventually, though, Chris pulled back, and went on with his examination. His hand held Mark all the time, though. Solid, warm, and real in its weight, it was just what Mark needed.

Chris kept holding his hand when the rest of the crew came in the room, when they hugged him – despite his smell, something Martinez immediately addressed, funniest son of a bitch he'd ever met – when they joked and Beth shed a tear she made them promise never to talk about to anyone.

“Not gonna ruin your reputation, nerd, don't worry,” Mark said, and she laughed.

“Come on guys, let Beck work now,” Lewis finally told them.

Mark swore the small smiles on the rest of the crew's faces were actually a bit malicious. He turned to face Chris, who was looking at his vitals from the monitor.

“Uh, is it whatever nice stuff you're pumping me full of with the IV, or did Lewis actually wink when they left?”

Chris chuckled. “Nope. The morphine is definitely not making you hallucinate.”

Mark gaped in surprise, jaw dropping. “What? You mean...? I mean, does she? They?”

“They know?” Chris asked him, handing him a glass of water Mark drank in a single gulp. “Hey. Slow down, would you? And yes, they all know. I uh -”

Chris ducked his head, shyly, and avoided Mark's eyes, but he didn't complete the sentence. Mark tried to figure out what he had meant to say, but the drugs were making his brain slow, and he felt sleepy.

“All okay, sweetheart?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I. Sorry. When you got – lost, yeah, I went into early heat. Because of a broken bond,” Chris quietly told him.

The Omega's words hung in the room, heavy and full of meaning, but Mark felt lost. He knew what Chris was referring to, it was common among young bonded Omegas who lost their mates, but Mark and Chris had never bonded. He told |Chris that much, as if the doctor didn't already know.

“Yeah, we didn't. They know that too.”

“Then how? How is it possible?”

Chris shifted in his seat, a sigh leaving his lips. He looked at Mark, then. “Maybe we should talk about this tomorrow, Mark. When you'll be rested.”

Mark shook his head. “I want to know, Chris. Please?”

The doctor nodded. “Okay,” he conceded. He stayed silent for a minute, intently looking for the right words to explain, and Mark let him. His eyes roamed over the concentrated face and the pinched look in the eyes of the other man, as he waited, drinking his sight in.

“You surely know that, when an Omega young enough to still procreate loses a mate or a pup, they go into an early heat. It's a way for the body to tell them to go on, to find another mate and keep procreating, or to generate another pup. You... well, you know how our biology works, surely.”

Mark nodded.

“Okay, well, when you... After we left, I went into early heat. I couldn't explain it. We had not bonded, and I was on suppressants. Still am. Then I thought about those bonds people talk about, in movies and books, the ones that grow on their own between an unmated couple. That's how we bonded.”

Eyes wide in surprise, Mark was at a loss of words. “Are you pulling my leg, Chris?”

Chris smiled, a self-depreciating smile. “No Mark. No, I'm not.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“Yeah.”

“I mean, that's incredible. I thought it was only a children story,” he said.

“No, it's not. There are a few cases reported every year. The majority of the scientific community doesn't think it's possible, and I, too, always believed they were stories made up to be famous. Turns out they're not.”

“Jesus. You are... You're may mate. We are bonded!” Mark exclaimed, voice raising and laughter filling the lab. He was incredulous, this had to be a dream. He was still stranded on Mars, probably dying because of the fucking potatoes. No way all this was real.

Chris's hand found his own, and the Omega leaned down to softly brush his lips on Mark's forehead. And those lips were definitely real, soft and full like he remembered them to be.

“And you had an early heat. Oh my, Chris! I'm so sorry, I heard they are awful and painful, and you went through it all alone, and I-”

Chris shut him with another kiss. “Don't apologize, Mark. Never apologize for what happened. I'm here, I'm alright, and I'm with you. And you'll get better soon and we'll have all the time in the world to be together. That's all that matters.”

Mark was still incredulous, and he was elated, but somehow he also felt sad. Sad for what they had had to live through, both of them. Sad for Chris suffering and him being unable to help. But still, Chris was right. Here they were, together.

“I love you.”

Chris smiled, squeezing Mark's hand. “I love you, too.”

\- - -

Mark let himself into the room and all but ran to the king sized bed in the center. He let himself fall face first on the soft surface, the duvet smelling of flowers and mint. Behind him, Chris chuckled.

“You like the room, I see?”

“Mhhh. I love it. I love this bed. Maybe more than I love you. Sorry darling.”

Chris laughed, the mattress lowering gently when he sat down beside Mark, much more sedately than his Alpha. “You'd betray me with this bed? Classy, Mark.”

The botanist laughed, turning on his side so that he was facing Chris, looking up at him. The beauty of his mate – wow, it still felt so strange to think of Chris as a real mate, even if it had been months now – never failed to charm him.

Looking down at his mate, Chris was thinking the same thing. Mark had gained the weight he had loss, he looked healthy and happy. He had begun joking again with Martinez and he even talked about his time on Mars now. He had made enormous progresses since they had rescued him.

“I'd never betray you, Chris. Nothing in the world is more worth than you are for me,” he said.

Chris smiled and blushed, leaning down for a kiss.

They had both dreamed of doing this in the privacy the Hermes couldn't grant. During the journey home, they had shared a bunk. Partly, because of the problems in the heating system, and partly because they would have done it no matter what. Still, they had yet to really, physically bond. They had talked plenty about it, but for the first half of the journey back, Mark had been too weak to physically do it, and during the second half, they had devoted themselves so getting the Alpha back at the better physical state possible.

Once they had landed, their families had been there, and they had been separated by a sea of hugs and tears and kisses and pats on the back from relatives and friends, and even some colleagues. Then, after four hours like that, the six of them were all feeling physically drained – especially Vogel, with six kids running around and driving him crazy – and one of NASA's interns had come in the big room that had hosted them and asked them to follow her. Their period of isolation begun.

They stayed separated for ten days, with no possibility to talk to each other. They had had their physicians evaluating them and the therapists making sure they weren't going to go crazy anytime soon. Chris had been given a shot of a medicine that induced his heat. After three years on suppressants – the two extra shots had come in handy – they had to make sure the consequences on his body wouldn't be too drastic.

The heat had been a bitch to deal with – more painful and long than normal, it had lasted thirteen days – and most of all throughout it he had been constantly supervised and controlled by specialists. They were all fellow Omegas, that's for sure, but it was quite embarrassing to have four people pretending to be engaged in looking at something else as you jerked off and put a plug in your ass and moaned louder than a porn actor. Not to mention he vocally called Mark's name on more than one occasion. Fortunately they had not reported it.

Anyway, now here they finally were. All of them released from the solitary confinement, Lewis had gone home with her husband and Vogel to a nearby hotel with his wife and kids. The Martinezes had headed to the airport, and Beth had drove away with her parents. They would meet again in a month, but for now the break was welcomed.

Chris and Mark had booked a room in the most luxurious hotel they could find, and now here they were. Trading slow kisses, soft whimpers escaping their lips, hands exploring each other's chests. Chris explored Mark's broad chest and his abs, and Mark's hand moved south, to the waistband of Chris's trousers. It stopped there, asking for permission.

Chris pulled back, breaking the kiss, and looked at Mark. They were lying on their sides, facing one another. Slowly, he got in a seated position and removed his shirt, making sure his movements were the sexiest he could muster. He'd never been a big fan of strip-teases, after all, but whatever. Mark looked quite pleased nevertheless.

“Oh God,” Mark moaned as Chris pulled his trousers down, and them his boxers, standing completely naked in front of him. “Oh God.”

The Omega smirked. “You gonna keep all those clothes on you?” he teased.

Faster than a bolt, Mark got on his feet, stripping out of every single piece of fabric covering his body. Chris's mouth watered at the sight of his mate, naked and beautiful, standing in front of him flushed and hard. And yeah, Mark was really hard, his prick red and pointing slightly upwards, big and  _so Alpha_ .

Mark smirked. “Like what you see?”

“A lot,” Chris breathed, and it came out as a half sigh, half moan that sent Mark over the moon.

“Come here,” the Omega commanded, and Mark climbed on the bed, crawling between Chris's parted legs, taking him all in.

Chris's skin, usually pale, was flushed red. He was hard, just like Mark, and the Alpha wanted nothing more than to take him in his mouth. He did so, and Chris let out a loud moan, a delicious sound that filled the room.

His cock was heavy in Mark's mouth, on his tongue. It was a bit smaller than his own, but that was due to their different biology; it was still a considerable length and quite thick, and it tasted good in his mouth. Mark took him all in, slowly lowering himself on his cock, and Chris moaned even louder.

When he licked the underside of his shaft, Chris's hands grabbed his hair, stroking Mark's head with trembling fingers, sometimes encouraging him, sometimes slowing him down a bit. They had all the time of the world, here, and the 'do not disturb' sign was on the door. The Omega squirmed under him when the Alpha teased his balls, taking one in his mouth and touching the other. “Fuck,” he breathed.

Mark let go of his balls then, and began licking his prick once again, tasting all of it, not leaving a single spot untouched. He finally teased the tip with his tongue, then sucked at it. That made Chris come undone.

“Oh fuck. Mark! I'm gonna... I'm gonna come. Mark!” he shouted, and Mark only sucked harder, going down deeper and engulfing his length in the hot furnace that was his mouth. That was all the encouragement Chris needed. His hands yanked Mark's head and he came, hot and salty, in the Alpha's mouth. Chris's legs went slack as Mark let go of his cock, now oversensitive and softening.

“Come here you,” Chris whispered, pulling the Alpha towards him.

Mark let himself be maneuvered by his mate, and kissed him deeply and languidly, long enough for Chris's cock to come back to full hardness once again. He felt the tip of his cock touch his tight, and looked down. “Oh, hello there!” he exclaimed, making Chris laugh and smack his arm.

They kept kissing and Chris's hands found Mark's nipples. Chris knew how sensitive Mark was there, and he was careful to avoid the scarring tissue on his side – there, touches could become painful, he had come to learn – as he moved his hands up, on his pecs, to his nipples. The doctor took the right one in his mouth as the left one was taken care of by his hands.

Mark moaned at the feeling of Chris's lips on him. His hands moved down, on Chris's ass, and cupped it. The position wasn't very comfortable – both of them on their sides – so he readjusted them putting Chris over him, his knees on either side of him. That way, touching his gorgeous ass was way easier, and Mark wanted nothing more than to feel those cheeks under his fingers, and spread them to find Chris's holes. Chris was already leaking slick, lubed just perfectly enough for Mark to push his index finger in without making it painful.

The pressure on his hole made Chris clench it on reflex, but then his instinct told him to loosen up. He felt the tip of Mark's finger go past his entrance, penetrating him for the very first time, and he let out a loud moan, grinding his hips down against Mark.

“You like that, uh?” he Alpha murmured, pushing the finger deeper.

“Ye-yeah.”

Mark pushed in and out enough for Chris to loosen up a bit more, then added a second finger to the first one. He pushed in and out slowly, then a bit faster, feeling Chris's cock fully hard now, and his own almost painfully ready. But Chris wasn't relaxed enough, not yet, and he wasn't in heat, so the slick he could produce was limited. He curled his fingers to brush the Omega's prostate, that sweet spot inside him that drove him crazy.

“Mark!”

The Alpha pushed in another finger, taking advantage of Chris's blissfulness. Fingering him a bit longer, he felt the muscles definitely relax, and his Alpha instinct went in overdrive.

In a beat, he had Chris pinned down to the mattress, and the Omega found it so incredibly arousing.

“Mine,” Mark growled.

“Yours,” Chris agreed.

They kissed.

“On your knees, Chris,” Mark commanded, all but growling at this point, his tone the one of an aroused Alpha ready to claim what he felt was his. It sent a spark of pleasure to Chris cock that almost made him reach the second orgasm in one hour. He was already leaking copiously.

Chris immediately complied, getting on his knees and elbows in a submitting position, his ass high up in the air, exposed, at Mark's mercy, and his head lowered, forehead on his wrists. His cock was heavy between his tight, almost painful, and he wished to touch it, to give himself some relief, but the idea of coming just from Mars's cock was so delicious he patiently waited. He felt two of Mark's fingers on the rim of his hole, and then inside it once again, and he felt more slick coming out. He spread his legs wider apart, as much as he can, to grant Mark better access.

“That's it, baby,” Mark grins smugly.

The Alpha twists his fingers, rubbing the sweet spots that makes Chris moan in pleasure, his hips jerking forward, then back again for more friction. Then, he withdrew his fingers, and Chris felt empty.

“Mark,” he whimpered. “Please.”

And Mark's cock was there. The tip against his ass cheeks big and full and round, when it touched Chris's rim, so big the Omega wondered how he could host such an enormous cock in his hole. A wave of pleasure washed over him at the thought of finally having it in him.

“Mark,” he moaned once again, wriggling his ass higher in the air, teasing the Alpha, begging him to give it to him.

“You want it?” Mark asked with a grin,, wanting to hear his Omega beg for it, wanting to hear Chris's voice moan his name again. 

His hands were in contrast with the cockiness of his voice, gently roaming over Chris's back, on his shoulders, his neck, pulling his hair back from his face. Mark saw Chris turn his face so that his right cheek was resting on his wrists and he could more or less look at Mark. Chris smiled at him softly, aroused and flushed as he was, his lips full, the bottom one between his teeth.

“Yes. Oh fuck, Mark, yes, please,” Chris purred, pushing his ass towards the Alpha a bit more..

Satisfied, Mark slapped his ass cheek with his left hand, leaving a red mark there. Chris grunted in surprise, then moaned in pleasure. The sound of submission, that made Mark growl. “There you go, baby,” he crooned.

Mark pushed in, slowly but unyielding, until Chris had taken all of him in a single thrust and he was buried ball-deep in his ass. They both moaned in pleasure, Mark feeling the tight heat surround him, Chris fuller than he'd ever been before. The Alpha had his right hand on the Omega's shoulder, keeping him there, like he wanted him to be.

He stayed still, savoring the exquisite sight in front of his eyes. Then Mark begun thrusting, little movements at first, just barely enough to send some sparks of pleasure to the Omega's neglected cock. Chris tried to push back and take him in deeper, but Mark growled, possessive and dominating, a sound that made Chris go still, a warning that the Omega understood and respected. Satisfied, Mark gave a more powerful thrust, his cock almost  _there_ where Chris wanted it to brush, in the sweet point that gave him so much pleasure. That made him moan and beg for more.

“More, Mark. More, fuck, please, Alpha, more!” he all but screamed.

Being addressed as Alpha with such a reverent tone made Mark sneer. His cock became even harder, if it was possible, full of seed for his sweet Omega. Then Mark gave it to him. He begun thrusting faster, his rhythm increasing and becoming animalistic even. Their moans increased in volume, and Chris's body was pushed a few inches forward with each thrust. The Omega moaned, screaming in pleasure and arousal.

“Mark, more. More, Alpha! Alpha!”

Mark shifted his weight slightly, and  _yes_ , finally, his cock brushed Chris's prostate with every thrust, each movement amplifying his pleasure. Chris 's cock was leaking copiously, the slick in his ass the perfect lube for the harsh thrusts of his Alpha. He felt like he was there, almost over the edge, and he knew Mark was too, he could feel it from the slight change in the rhythm. He was pushing deeper and faster, hectic in his movements, and it was just so much, too much.

Chris's vision whitened as he came with a shout, sperm shooting on the sheets under him, a spurt so long and hard that made him rock his hips again, the walls of his ass clenching around Mark.

And that sent Mark over the edge, too. The rhythm definitely stuttered, he pushed in deeper, Chris clenching around him, moaning under him, flushed and  elated and gorgeous, and it was too much. His knees almost gave out under his weight, and his knot swelled in Chris's ass, locking him with his Omega, pumping the beautiful, precious creature with his seed. Mark could almost see his belly, getting fuller and fuller of him, round, and Chris came once again just from it, from the sensation of Mark spilling inside him. It was almost a dry orgasm, worn out as he was, but it was the most forceful one. He bared his neck  instinctively, presenting himself .

“Mark, Alpha,” he moaned.

He didn't need to add anything else; they both knew what he meant.  That was all the invitation Mark needed. He lowered himself, his chest flushed against Chris's arched back.  One of his hands supported his weight while the other was spread over Chris's belly, keeping him up. He could feel him shake in pleasure and want and need to be claimed,  and he bit the Omega's neck, marking him as  _his_ Omega, _his_ mate.  _His._

Chris moaned loud – the teeth sinking in his flesh the most delicious kind of pain in the world. His spread tights were trembling and he simply slumped forward, taking Mark down with him. His Alpha, caring and loving as he was, did his best not to crush him, but he was as exhausted as Chris was.

Mark collapsed on Chris, then immediately rolled to the side, adjusting Chris's body, too. They were lying together, Chris's back pressed against Mark's chest, the Alpha's face pressed against the Omega's neck, near the skin he had just marked, still red. Mark spooned around the slender Omega, the knot still big, locking them together for the foreseeable future, and he sighed, pressing slow, soft kisses all over his neck and shoulders. It was a stark contrast to the rough love they had been making mere minutes ago.

Chris sighed softly, his eyelids half lidded and his skin still pink. “I love you, Mark. So much.”

Mark smiled against his skin. “I love you too, baby.”

Chris let out a contented sigh. Full and placated as he was, he let Mark move his legs a bit more when the knot deflated and he was able to pull out. Wetness slid out of him and down his tights. Chris moaned when he felt Mark's fingers touch the rim of his hole again, then inside it, coating the slick on his fingertips, pulling it out. Their smells permeated the room.

Mark kept rubbing the tips of his fingers on on Chris loosen walls, and the Omega moaned.

“As much as I'd like to go for round two, I'm really too tired for it. You exhausted me, Alpha,” he said sensually, winking.

Mark laughed, a laugh that sounded a bit like a growl, the idea of having done his job so well making him proud.

“Next time, baby.”

“Mhh, yeah, next time.”

“Can't wait for your first heat without the suppressants. Gonna make you pregnant, fill you up so much you'll be barely able to stand for a week,” he breathed against Chris's neck.

The Omega let out an obscene moan, so loud it made Mark's cock stir a bit.

“I'll be happy to have your pups. They're gonna be beautiful.”

“Just like you,” Mark whispered to his ear, kissing it.

“Sap.”

“You love it.”

“That's true. And I love you.”

“Love you too.”

\- - -

The day before the Ares V launch, Chris and Mark held their first born for the very first time. She had Chris's pale blue eyes and red lips, and Mark's blonde hair.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I sincerely hope you liked this story, and thank you so much for reading it.  
> Leave me kudos or reviews, they always make me happy; I'd really love to know what you think about this story.
> 
> You can find me here on Tumblr. I like to talk to people: [IceDrifter](http://www.icedrifter.tumblr.com)


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